Return To Lan Darr (19 page)

Chapter
20

Deadly Reunion

Jibbawk and Rubic arrive on Lan Darr in the time it takes to sneeze. Rubic shakes his head, throwing off the sickly feeling that Hubbu travel leaves coursing through his body.

It is night on Lan Darr and the three moons are up. Rubic studies the sky.
So this is the world Allan went to a year ago while we were searching the mountain high and low.
Amazing.
A shooting star races across the sky, leaving a fiery trail behind it.
I wish to find Allan soon so we can talk all about our adventures without pretense.

Rocks litter the landscape along with dead trees and dirt. It’s not unlike a desert on Earth. The wind is cool and Rubic breathes deep.

A twig snaps. The dark here is still alien and unknown.
This is no time to drop your guard.
Rubic’s eyes strain, but he sees nothing.

Rubic wonders about the beasts on this world. Are they in the dark watching him? Do they fear Jibbawk?

“Come, we mussst find high ground. If Allan arrives sssoon, we’ll want to catch him. I mean, meet him, as sssoon as possible.” Jibbawk points to a hill.

When they reach the top of the hill, Rubic can see a gazillion stars extend all the way around. A soft glow of a large city sits on the horizon. “Is that Dantia?” Rubic asks, pointing.

“Yesss.” Jibbawk still wears its goggles. It scans the night, the lenses zooming in and out. “Allan will arrive sssoon, but we have no idea where. Only that it will be within fifty miles of our current location.” Jibbawk sits cross-legged. It takes its backpack off and digs out the white egg device. The holographic map blinks on. Dots are scattered about, but there are no clusters. Jibbawk sets the map down, leaving it on.

Rubic sits. He looks around and points at a dark area on one side of Dantia. “What’s over there?”

“A forest,” Jibbawk says curtly.

Rubic points to the other side of Dantia. “And over there?”

“A mushroom forest and some Lithic Furies.”

Rubic nods. He remembers the Lithic Furies, but only vaguely. They were alive, that’s all he could remember.

After a considerable and uncomfortable silence, Rubic picks up a long twig then another. The sticks are dry but not brittle. He sets them side-by-side and weaves a thinner twig between them. After weaving a few more sticks tightly together he holds up the square and inspects his handiwork.

“What are you doing?” Jibbawk asks.

“Weaving. I’m passing the time. In Boy Scouts, we used to weave lots of things. Baskets, hats, sun shades, and art projects.”

“Ssso the Boy Scoutsss are where they teach boys to be girls?” Jibbawk snorts.

“No. On my planet, boys and girls can do the same things if they want. It’s called freedom.” Rubic finds another thin twig and adds to his creation. “Besides, it’s a skill. It can save your life.”

Jibbawk laughs. “A weave cannot save a life. Unless you can die from boredom.”

Rubic continues weaving a square larger than the size of a piece of paper. It’s thin and flexible, but Rubic is pleased with it. The twigs are so flexible they create a tight fabric-like surface, and it is stronger than he’d expected. If thick enough, it could be protective. He quickly weaves another one.

After what seems like forever, the map beeps. “He is here.” Jibbawk points to a flurry of dots on the hologram.

“Are you sure?”

“I am confident. Though it is possible the sssignature is not Allan, we need to intercccept to find out.”

Rubic fills with happiness. He’s come a long way to see his nephew. How surprised he will be!

Jibbawk leaps up, snatches the map, and carefully studies the topography and points out the best way to go. “Allan is seven and a half miles away.” Jibbawk stands straight, its quills stretching out like a bird fluffing its feathers. “I’ve waited a long time to find Allan.”

“Let’s go, then,” Rubic says.

The two hike at a quick pace. Rubic falls behind, not being as fast as Jibbawk. And he finds that he prefers no company to bad company. Jibbawk stops occasionally to let Rubic catch up.

A noise directs Rubic’s gaze to the sky. From the dark night come lights, dozens of them. The lights get closer and closer. They’re airships, lots of them, all different shapes. Rubic points. “Whoa, that’s cool!”

Jibbawk pulls Rubic under the canopy of a dead, branchy tree. “Keep your voiccce down. They are the enemy’s forccces. We do not want them after usss.” After the ships pass, the two continue toward Allan.

Rubic crouches, his heart thumping. “Who are they?”

Jibbawk doesn’t answer at first. When it does its voice is low. “They are the anti-council. They want one sssupreme leader.”

“Looks like a lot of ships. I’m assuming the council has their own fleet just as big?” Rubic whispers.

“No.”

Rubic cringes. “They are going toward the city pretty fast.”

“I do have eyes.”

Rubic grabs the tree trunk and squeezes. “They’re going to attack Dantia? So we’re in a war zone?”

“Yesss.” Jibbawk leaves the protection of the tree and continues.

Rubic focuses on the ground as he walks. He can’t ignore the prickling feeling of fear that surrounds him. He lets Jibbawk hike farther ahead.

They move quickly and the miles fall behind.

Jibbawk waits for Rubic to catch up, tapping its foot on a stone. Rubic says as he approaches, “You said you were to take Allan to the council to help you bring change here. Allan was going to tell the council how Earth does democracy and help change things.”

“Yesss. Now we are too late for that.” Jibbawk spins and continues. “Keep up!”

Jibbawk never spoke about reform or democracy in passing conversation, never said anything stately that would be on the mind of a mayor of a large city. The bird-creature acts more like a dictator than the head of a council. What if Jibbawk wants Allan for some nefarious reason?
Nah, that can’t be. Can it? They’re friends, right? How else would Jibbawk know where Allan was on Earth?

The answer comes to Rubic, and he realizes the thought has been poking his brain ever since arriving in the mud river on Peebland. The goggles. That’s how Jibbawk found my house. Not because Allan told Jibbawk where he lived and certainly not because they are friends.

Rubic falls behind again. He plays back all that had happened in his head.

I have been traveling with the enemy.

Jibbawk, standing at the top of a rise, stares through its goggles.

Rubic approaches, his hand on the hilt of his knife. He could stab Jibbawk in the back. The thought flees from Rubic like a startled grasshopper. He doesn’t know enough of what Jibbawk has done to put him to death. Rubic is not like Jibbawk, he is better.

Jibbawk turns to face Rubic. “I sssee Allan. He is sssleeping next to a sssmall fire.”

“Oh. That… that’s good.” Rubic’s mouth is dry and tacky, and he’s sweating more than he should in the cool breeze.

Rubic and Jibbawk hurry toward Allan. Rubic is excited and cautious. He knows Jibbawk is evil to the core, but he’s still not sure what Jibbawk has in mind. Rubic feels like a pawn on Jibbawk’s chessboard. There’s nothing he can do now. Jibbawk has the upper hand.

As they near the basin that Allan is camped in, Jibbawk stops Rubic. “You, go to your nephew. Ssso you can reunite in privacy.” Jibbawk looks at Rubic with its red vertical-slit eyes, the eyes that look as red as blood inside, the eyes that radiate pure evil.

“Thank you.” Rubic rushes to Allan, knowing Jibbawk is only a couple yards behind.

The wind stirs, a cold wind, but that is not why Rubic shivers. He’s scared. As scared as he’s been on this trip. He runs over the small lip of the shallow basin toward the campfire.

“Allan!” he runs faster, sending dirt and rocks into the air with every kick.

Allan’s torso snaps up and twists. The two eyes meet and lock. “Rubic!” Allan cries. Rubic reaches Allan and practically falls on him. Their arms wrap around each other and squeeze. The strength of the hug contradicts their tired bodies, coming from a deep tension that had been building for days.

Chapter
21

Awaken the Volcano

Laura’s body twists up like she’s Taffy and unwinds on Peebland. The sky is dark, but the rings of the planet add a bluish glow to the landscape. She plops down on a large, rough black stone and leans back on her hands. The beautiful rings are like threads of silver silk, and the stars all around glint like rhinestones. She’s stuck in the glow of the rings, stuck in the awe of its magnificence. Her hair blows in a warm breeze, and she inhales deeply. She tries to hold on to the feeling of overwhelming beauty for one moment longer so it will stay with her for as long as she lives. She’s not on Earth and is not dreaming. She’s found another world and, in a way, unveiled the truth of Allan Westerfield. 

The smell of peanut butter radiates from her skin. She wipes her cheek with her finger and licks it clean. Laughter bursts from her mouth, and her body tingles.

Right about now the police are probably throwing Alice to the ground and slapping cuffs on her wrists. They’ll haul her off to jail where she’ll stay for quite a while.

Laura has escaped Alice, and without endangering Allan. She feels the warmth of success, and tears slide down her sticky skin. Success comes naturally to her, but answering test questions is one thing, evading a captor is another.

After simmering in her personal glow for as long as she can, she looks around. The ground slopes at a steep angle and leads up to a pointy mountain. When she shifts her feet, sand and stones roll downhill. The stones are shiny, like polished beads. She scoops up a handful and holds them close to see them in the ring-lit night. Some are black as onyx, some are clear as diamonds.

Laura looks to the valley below her. It’s dark so she can’t see the landscape very well. Without a particular direction in mind, she starts to hike down the mountain.

A half mile later she comes to a cliff. There is a glow just over the top of the rocks, which looks to Laura like the lights of a nearby city.
Could it be Dantia, the city Allan visited?

The ground rumbles, and shifting pebbles roll down the slope. She freezes. Her arms are out to her sides balancing her weight.
What was that?
It was a subtle movement deep under the ground, but where there are baby earthquakes, there are bigger ones, mother earthquakes.
I better get moving.

Laura, moving faster now, studies how to climb the cliff in front of her. It’s more like a broken ridge that juts from the slope about twenty feet or so and extends as far as she can see. It is tiered, like steps, resembling pyrite or some other crystal formation. Laura takes a deep breath. She finds a handhold and a foothold and slowly climbs to the top. The breeze swarms over her again, hotter this time.

She grabs the top of the cliff and pulls herself up. The light is not Dantia. It’s not a city of any kind. It’s a rolling, flowing, glowing river of lava. The heat intensifies on her face. She’s still hanging onto the cliff, and her foot starts to slip. The bottom looks so far away now. If she falls, she will break her legs. Instead of trying to go back down she pulls herself to the top of the cliff and stands. She turns from the molten river and grits her teeth. “AAUH!” All her previous elation flees. She had no idea what she was getting into when she used the Hubbu pollen. One year ago Allan wound up at the edge of Dantia. He was dropped off at the towering stone wall by the floating Lorebs. The city was right there! Not some lava river! She screams, “Allan! Where are you?” Screaming makes her feel better. Her eyes look at the rings that arch over the sky. “God of this world or any world, or all worlds, help me find Allan.”

The ground rumbles lightly again. Her eyes follow the lava river up the mountain. The source of the lava is a massive caldron surrounded by a mountainous rim that towers into the sky. The peak is tall and thin, similar to a hollowed-out tree stump. A few lava balls pop out of the top and land on the mountainside. The lava balls are too far away to do any harm to her, but she panics anyway. She needs to put distance between herself and that mouth of doom, and fast.

Looking down the mountain reveals nothing but obstacles in her way. The lava river winds around large, black stone towers and over an edge. It gets too dark to see details. The only thing she can see is a horizon of water that reflects the planetary rings and toys with the light like vibrating guitar strings. Allan said he had sailed across an expansive lake. Laura reasons that if she follows the shoreline she’ll get to the house of gold where Lyllia of Meduna lives or she’ll find the city of Dantia.

Laura continues down the mountain. The ground rumbles, harder this time. She hurries. The ridge that she’d climbed up is still on her left, now paralleling the river. For now, she’s safe on the real estate between the lava river and the cliff—which is about fifty yards wide.

An hour later, she stops and sits on a large clear stone. Her feet hurt. Add that to her whiplashed neck, bruised palms, and battered head. She’s also thirsty and hungry. The lava river is twice as far away from her now, and the distance lets the cold night air find her. She hugs herself and shivers. She has to ignore her pain, her fear, and her hopelessness.

Her watch says she’s been on this planet for over four hours. She and her body complain in every conceivable way. She has to eat and drink. Reluctantly, Laura scrapes peanut butter off her forehead, cheek, neck, and ears and eats it. It helps settle her stomach, though does nothing to ease her thirst. In fact, it makes her thirstier. Some of the peanut butter remains in her throat.

Laura sways. She slips off the stone to the ground. “Just a little rest,” she says and swallows again. “One hour.” With her hand, Laura sweeps away the larger stones and lies down. The round glassy pebbles are more comfortable than she would have thought. Her body relaxes, and she drifts off to dreamless sleep.

Laura wakes. The night is still dark, the air still chilly. She yawns and checks her watch. Three hours have fluttered away while she slept. It is still night. It’s still dark. How long are the nights here?

Her lips crack painfully. Another thing to complain about. She tries to finger comb her hair, but gives up. It’s a caked and tangled mess.

Laura forces her sore body to stand and clumsily continues down the mountain. The ground grumbles again. It happens so often that Laura doesn’t think anything of it anymore. She thinks about falling into Allan’s arms. He will be so surprised to see her! A ping of guilt registers in her mind. All this time Allan had really gone to another world. He was forced into therapy, and they almost made him take anti-psychotic drugs. All the adults wanted was for him to forget about his experience. They made him crazy by forcing his memories into the realm of make-believe. It was why he insisted on hiking that mountain every weekend. It explained his obsession with the flowers and all his dreams. He wasn’t infatuated with Asantia. He was charmed with adventure. Laura found herself wanting to be near Allan more than ever. He is so strong, a survivor. It makes her skin tingle and her heart swell with anticipation. The memories help quiet her pain and keep her feet moving.

A large earthquake hits. This time the ground shakes hard. Laura falls to her knees. She looks up and sees a dozen lava balls burst from the crater. “Oh shit,” her voice quivers, and she feels her brain kick adrenaline into her veins. Laura tries to run, but her feet fall clumsily on rolling rocks.

The ground shifts and shakes. More lava spews out of the caldron and adds its mass to the river. Lava rolls down the mountainside like boiling, irradiated blood. She watches the approaching tidal wave, frozen in fear. It moves so fast, Laura realizes she can’t outrun it. She braces for impact, for pain, for death. Unexpectedly, the river splits. The lava moves to her right.

She has time now, time to get away!

So she runs.

A scream splits the quiet night air. A woman’s scream! Laura runs around a tall stone, under an arch made by two crystals leaning on each other, and around another outcropping. It’s like she’s a rat in a maze trying to find the cheese before she gets zapped. Her heart races, her lungs heave. When she looks up the mountain, she sees more lava coming out of it.

Laura hurries. The person screams again. Laura wonders if the person looks strange like the creatures Allan had described. Will it be an alien, or a humanoid figure that resembles a talking turkey? Or maybe they are one of the strange dog-like creatures. Maybe together they can escape the lava.

Laura climbs up and over a large boulder. She stands and searches for the screamer.

“HEELPPP MEEE!”

The creature speaks English. Oh, right. All the creatures Allan met spoke English. That was one of the reasons I never believed Allan’s stories.
There’s one more boulder to climb. At the top, Laura stands.

The screamer isn’t some weird alien of bird or dog shape. It’s Alice, and she’s trapped in between two rising streams of glowing red, melt-your-bones lava.